In The Studio w/ Jacquire King!! Day 3
Lexington, KY
Saint Claire Recording Studio, by the fireplace with a light switch.
I arrived here at the studio Sunday evening, settled in and unpacked. First one, so I got my pick of the bedrooms upstairs… choices were “African” “Japan” “Ego” “Double” or “Princess” room. I’m kind of obsessed with all things Japanese (Ohaiyo gozaimasu!) so I claimed the Japan room and got situated with some candles and a book to read. I felt a little bad being the only girl and making one of the boys have the princess room, but I suppose we can rename it something more rugged and perhaps they won’t notice the transparent canopy over the bed.
I’m in the studio with Jacquire King. It feels like a dream. It is a dream. The first record that swept me up in its greatness was one of the many greats he has lent his magic to, Mule Variations by Tom Waits. That record turned me upside down (I’m still upside down) and is a huge reason why I feel so connected to music. More recently he’s worked with other incredible artists like Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Cold War Kids, MuteMath, Modest Mouse, the list goes on. As I’m getting to know him more, I feel very connected with him and so blessed to be working together. This is a huge dream come true for me, and all thanks to submitting to (and winning, yay!) a wonderful contest put on by NPR Mountain Stage and NewSong.
The first two days we worked mostly one-on-one on pre-production, raking through each song and finding where it might be improved, musically or lyrically. Mostly minor changes, a word here, a chord there, changing an intro, adding an instrumental for the band, some re-arranging… all the changes feel like they’ve glued everything together.
I feel open and present. The first two days were rough, my body wasn’t doing very well… emotional stress that came up the last 24 hours before coming here, but after a very timely call from California I am back on track, and ready to give my all.
We start tracking tomorrow, joined by 3 incredible musicians. Frank Swart on bass. Marco Giovino on drums. Adam Levy on guitar. I don’t think I could possibly be more lucky. I hadn’t met Frank or Marco before but know their playing well… they both play / record with Patty Griffin (I love her!) and Norah Jones, Marco’s currently drumming with Robert Plant & the Band of Joy…
And Adam Levy, of course… has been one of my favorites for years now. I can’t say enough about him, musically or personally. The Spark! Speaking of, get his new beautifully stunning album “The Heart Collector” on iTunes http://ping.fm/3I4jK. And don’t challenge him to Scrabble, he’ll win.
Wish me luck! And please let me know what you want to see from the studio…. we’re taking lots of pictures and video!
Woooooeeeeeeee!!!
Thank you for all of your very kind, amazing support.
Sending big love and gratitude,
Amber
